Ever since I became a Christian I have had a hunger to learn.  When I first came to Christ I mostly satisfied this with reading Christian devotional books.  I was still in highschool and still making my way through novels for English class, although many of these novels I would just skim and read the spark notes for a summary with hopes to pass a test or write an essay.  Now that I am homeschooling my children I have an even deeper hunger for knowledge.  Although I still love my Christian devotional books, I feel a desire to expand my horizons.  As I look at curriculum for my children, I see amazing history books, literature, and science books.  Last year I paved the way by reading my first novels since high school.  I read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

I have realized a practical reading goal for myself is around 15 pages a day.  I am a slow reader, or perhaps I reflect on what I read, but 15 pages a day takes me about thirty minutes.  I usually choose to have two or three set reading times a day and aim for 5-10 pages.  My goal is to read out to about 12 books a year or 3600 pages.  The challenge for making a reading list is to include a variety of genres, also to choose some books you know will be easy to get through and some that may be more difficult. I also do not read one book straight through, but rather read 6 at a time and will not add another until one is done.  There have been many studies that show the benefit of slow reading and that having a variety of books going keeps interest.  Just as one could keep a series of shows separate in one’s head, they can also keep multiple books seperate.

Here is my reading list for the year. Edited for reality :  )

  1.  Consider This by Karen Glass (completed)- Education
  2. Ourselves by CHarlotte Mason (started)- Philosophy & Citizenship
  3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brunte ( completed)- Novel
  4. My Antonia by Willa Cather (Completed) * Loved this Novel!
  5. The Latin Centered Curriculum (completed) by Andrew Campbell
  6. A philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (started)- Education
  7. Give Them Grace by Elyes M. Fitzpartick and Jessica Thomas- PArenting ( Didn’t finish, lost interest)
  8. The True Path to Godliness by William Teelinch ( half way finished/ had to give back to a friend before finishing)- Devotional
  9. The Oxford History of the American People by Morison- Started and plan to read over a few years

 

I would love to hear about how you cultivate the habit of reading and what your reading!  I would also love future book recommendations.